Say hello to Laura, a crazy busy mom to 8 kids who lives in Wisconsin.
I am sharing the intro pages I have made for some of my children as a result of Libray of Memories. I am blessed with 8 children so my life is CRAZY and busy which does not leave a lot of time for scrapbooking. BPC has helped me to change the focus of my scrabooking from "event based" to "personality and every day life based".
I made these pages when I took LIbrary of Memories. They are extremely simple but I have one for each child and behind these pages are the pages I make that document their unique personailites. I am so grateful I have these because the stories are ones told that I know I would never have remembered had I not started scrapbooking this way. It is also fun because I often find the scrapbooks that contain these pages on the floor so I know they are being enjoyed by not only me!
I am so grateful for BPc. It has been so great to be able to take so many classes that are fun and give me a creative outlet that I otherwise would not have. I love the fact that I can do them on my time at my own speed. The classes make me happy. Also, I am thankful for Stacy's love of color. As silly as this sounds, I have added color to my own life from the creativeness of others. My wardrobe has even changed from predominantly white, black and khaki to a very colorful one and it is fun!
I'm very excited to mention that we're changing up our Tuesday Tips a little bit. While we'll still feature tips from our members on various scrapbooking, household, or organization related items, we're also going to be featuring tips from our team members and our instructors. What are these tips going to be on? With a variety of instructors teaching a variety of subjects, the sky's the limit! Scrapbooking, photography, Photoshop, Lightroom, organization, I could keep writing all day. The best part is, all of them, if they're in video format (which will hopefully be the case) will be quick, meaning under 2 minutes.
The tips will all be archived on their very own page as well! I'll make sure to post when that page is up and available.
For those who don't know me, I'm Michelle Hedstrom, and I'm BPC's tech guru. Whenever you email admin@ with a technical question, I'm usually the one who gets your question and hopefully am able to provide you with a good answer. What you may not know, is that I'm also a photographer. My tips will consist of aspects of photography.
Please leave in the comments what you think of this new format, and also email us at tips@bigpictureclasses.com with what kinds of tips you'd love to see!
For the first tip in this new format, here's a quick tip about photographing water. Enjoy, and thanks for watching!
Margie, Xnomads, shares that, Big Picture Classes has been such a big part of my life since I first became a member back in 2007. It has truly changed how I scrapbook and how I create. And has been a huge influence on my online life.
(from 2011 One Little Word class)
Recently, when I registered to take the One Little Word class for a second time, I received a free pass to Stacy's self-paced Finish Line Scrapbooking class. I was very excited. I remember reading about this technique in the Feb 2009 issue of Simple Scrapbooks magazine and had always wanted to give it a try.
When I found myself with a stack of photos from my middle son's birthday party from 2010, I knew it was time to give it a try.
Now, this system goes totally against my natural scrapbooking instincts. I tend to resist anything that requires me to do the same action more than a few times. I avoid assembly line type projects. Now, I can appreciate the value, but it just doesn't sound fun.
Despite the assembly line nature of the Finish Line system, I knew the repetition would be trumped by the productivity. And I was right.
Once I finally sat down to put my pages together, it really wasn't as bad as I thought. It took me two sessions of 1.5 to 2 hours each before I was done. I also liked how using one of the class' key philosophies, INTENTIONAL IMPERFECTION, helped me overcome my resistance to using embellishments. I loved having a limited number of pre-selected embellishments sitting within arm's reach. It made the decision making so much more efficient, less stressful and more fun.
I'm so glad I finally gave this system of scrapbooking a try. Not only was I incredibly productive but I had lots of fun (despite my fears) in the process!"
One of the most pleasant unexpected benefits of my Big Picture Classes membership is the online friends I have made. There is a core of lovely friends I have gotten to know through the One Little Word Blog Hop I host at my blog on the first of each month. We share our monthly projects and encourage each other to keep going all throughout the year long class.
The very first person to ever sign up and one of my most enthusiastic OLW blog hop supporters is my friend Jill who I ""met"" in Ali's One Little Word class on BPC. We often turn to each other for help when building and designing our blogs. She also joined along with me when I decided I wanted to take a family photo at least once a month.
And as much as she is one of my most enthusiastic blog hop participants, I love to join in on her monthly Project Life blog hop. It has been so fun to visit each others' blogs several times a month to support each other on our scrapbooking & photography goals and get to know each other.
Another special friend I met through BPC is Rebekah. She always leaves such kind comments on my blog and is another enthusiastic supporter of the OLW monthly blog hop. And this past Christmas, when I was home visiting The States, she sent me some of her home made soap. It smelled amazing and was such a wonderful and kind gesture.
My creative and online life has been made so much richer by my involvement at BPC. Living abroad and so far from home for the past (almost) 4 years, I don't know what I would have done! Thanks, BPC!
Can you believe it's almost summer? May seems to be filled with a lot of "lasts"...last day of dance, last day of school, last-minute planning for summer vacations...but there are a lot of "first" going on here at BPC too (as well as some oldies-but-goodies). I hope that you'll make the BPC community part of your summer plans because it just wouldn't be the same without you!
Here's what's starting soon:
Kidding Around {3} - if you have a kiddo (or 2 or 3) in your life, then come join Tami for a smashing good time!
Lift Me Up! - We're excited to have Mou Saha back, teaching a workshop about upcycling...in other words looking at things in a new way, and turning them into creative outlets for you!
There are so many great workshops starting soon. Visit the the workshops page here to see even more great classes!
EmeraldValkyrie (Christy) shares what she likes about the BPC community.
One of the things I love about BPC is my ability to take classes on my own time and to improve my skills. In January I took a photography class here at BPC with Elisha Snow. For a long time, I have wanted to become a better photographer. I still have room to grow, but after taking the "Get Great Photos with Any Camera " class, I feel a lot better about the pictures I take.
I took this photo of our new kitten. It might not be perfect, but I love how she looks in it and that I was able to apply some of the concepts I had learned when I took the photo.
Here we are now, a few months later and I am having a blast getting messy with May Flaum in her " Curious Scrapbooker's Field Guide Class". I was able to use the photo from the previous class and use it in a layout in May's class.
Another thing I love about BPC is how classes stand alone and yet, at the same time can be applicable to each other.
We are working on the 2012 Big Idea Festival and want to know if you prefer the event to happen in August or September. Will you let us know your preference. Also help us spread the word so we can get as many responses as possible. Thanks!!
Di Turner shares a synopsis of what she has learned over her four years as a BPC student.
I have completed a lot of Big Picture Classes over the last four years, and I have taken something away from every single course! For me it is a continual learning experience where I add something to my scrapbooking arsenal on every course. The courses help keep me motivated as well as inspired to scrapbook.
From Stacy Julian I have learnt how to store all my precious memories in a library of memories;
Ali, Cathy and Stacy have all taught me the importance of telling my stories;
Nic has shown me some awesome techniques and about telling stories from different perspectives;
from Karen I have finally found my ""style"";
Lain has helped me get myself organised and scrapbooking efficiently;
May, Lain, Darci,Lisa and Elizabeth have kept me motivated and have helped me scrapbook a lot of pages that I love;
Aly is the reason I have a stack of cards on hand ready for birthdays and other occasions;
and Tracey and Elisha have taught me how to take some amazing photographs which I love!
I think the most valuable lesson I have taken away from the BPC courses is the fact that it is important to tell the stories of our life, and these days there is not a layout that I complete that doesn't have some sort of story on it. Some stories are simple and short, some are longer, and in some stories are shown through the photographs.
When I first started scrapbooking it was definitely more about the pretty papers and embellishments and some pages don't have any journalling on them! I find that the layouts that I love the most now are the ones that tell a story on them, especially the stories of the everyday.
The three visuals include layouts from the "Twelve" course I am doing at the moment - I love the balance that the twelve topics that Stacy has presented has provided in my scrapbooks:
"The story of your names" My girls always love it when I tell them how we came up with their names, so I thought I would get this family story down on a layout for prosperity, choosing two recent photographs of the girls that I love. This is a family story which will go into the "Family Stories" album I have in my library of memories.
"Your favourite place to eat" An everyday story about my daughter's favourite place to eat - the sushi train, coupled with some photographs which I took on my iPhone. Shows that you don't have to have brilliant photographs to illustrate your stories. This layout is going in my daughter's album so that she can remember her obsession with eating at the Sushi train!
"Colour my world : This was an inspiration layout for the Twelve course, it shows you can get inspiration from everywhere (including a rainbow), also that you can include photographs from different time frames and places - photographs can tell a story as much as the words themselves. In this layout it shows the beautiful relationship my girls have."
Read what she learned and how it has helped her with making mini albums.
My 31st birthday book that was made in Amy Tangerine's "Get Those Creative Juices Flowing." This class was a lot of fun since I learned how to make mini albums using leftover scraps that I had. I have some of Amy's minibooks and have always wanted to make my own using the papers that I chose so this class showed me how I could do just that.
I also really like Amy's approach to making mini albums. I've always felt like I had to make something elegant and nice when I made mini albums but her approach made it so that capturing the memories was the main thing. Because I was able to think like that, I had an easier time putting together my birthday book in one afternoon compared to the amount of time I use to spend putting together a mini album.
Since taking this class, I've made several more albums and have been using them whenever I travel and also for everyday use. I even used the things I learned in this class for my December Daily album last year and actually completed it for the first time since I didn't overthink it like I normally would."
Soap House Mama's first class at Big Picture is Field Guide taught by May Flaum. She shares about her class experience below along with some of her class porjects.
Oh, where do I start??? This class has far exceeded my expectations! May has such a hands-on approach and truly gives her all to us! From misting to painting to die cutting...May has left no stone unturned in this class. I have so enjoyed all of the creative play!
We have a highly interactive message board and I have "met" some amazing scrappers from around the world. I just love seeing everyone's projects!
I think the biggest surprises for me have been distress stickles and molding paste. I have a newfound LOVE for these and am having so much fun incorporating them into my layouts! May has encouraged and inspired me to create fearlessly, to try new things, and to just have fun!
Class is officially in session, and we invite you to join May and Nic in their popular workshop: Double Take!
Each week you’ll receive four new sketches, eight example layouts, tips, techniques and step-by-step instructions. This workshop is jam-packed with inspiring ideas from two of BPC’s popular instructors!
SPECIAL OFFER!
Anyone who registers for Double Take will receive a FREE SEAT in May’s Extraordinary Paper class AND in Nic’s Cluster Embellishingclass (a $22 value)!
To take advantage of this offer, simply register for Double Take, and information will be posted inside the classroom on how to redeem your free classes! Click here to register today!
Class is officially in session, and we invite you to join May and Nic in their popular workshop: 
